The latest Labour Market Update report from FAS, the State training agency, shows that almost half the increase in female employment in recent years has been concentrated in managerial, professional and technical occupations that have traditionally been dominated by men.
In a probably related trend, the report shows that the number of women aged 25 and over has increased dramatically in the workforce.
Traditional industrial occupations are mainly where women remain grossly underrepresented. These include skilled production and maintenance work, transport and general labouring. Women also remain under-represented in agriculture.
The internal FAS report, which was drawn up by the agency's economist, Mr Terry Corcoran, charts the growth of female employment since 1981 and includes projections to 2003. Some of the FAS projections have already been met as women enter the market in rapidly increasing numbers.
It shows the female share of employment rose from 29 per cent in 1981 to 37 per cent in 1995 and is expected to reach 40 per cent by 2003. On the basis of their overall share of the employment market, women are now slightly over-represented in the professions, at 44 per cent, and are expected to comprise 45 per cent by 2003. Women are still under-represented among managers and proprietors, at 38 per cent, but this is a dramatic increase on 18 per cent in 1981, and they are expected to comprise 34 per cent of this category by 2003. The category where women have traditionally been over-represented is "associate professionals". They comprised 65 per cent of this group in 1981 and this has increased slightly to 68 per cent, where it is expected to remain for the time being. Associate professionals include nurses, paramedics, teachers and religious. But it also includes technical staff in industry and business.
According to the AS report, the balance of occupations has changed significantly within the group, with religious showing a dramatic fall and technical occupations a sharp increase.
Women are also over-represented among sales staff. They comprised 40 per cent of shopworkers in 1981, rising to 49 per cent in 1995 and they are projected to reach 50 per cent by 2003. They comprise over 70 per cent of service workers, the traditional, low-paid casual category embracing such groups as cleaners, where they have always predominated.
In contrast, the number of women involved in skilled maintenance work had crept up only to 3 per cent by 1995 (from zero in 1981) and is not expected to exceed 5 per cent by 2003. Women comprise 32 per cent of production workers, but are concentrated in the unskilled grades. They comprise only 16 per cent of skilled production workers, 1 per cent less than in 1981. Among lower-paid manual groups such as labourers, the female share of jobs has risen from 4 per cent in 1981 to 8 per cent in 1995, and will reach 11 per cent in 2003.
These patterns reflect experience elsewhere. However, the report says that employment patterns for women in Ireland differ significantly from the rest of the EU in some respects. While 23 per cent of Irish women workers are part-time, compared with 5 per cent of male workers, there are far more women in full-time employment than in other EU states. The expansion in numbers of women entering the workforce has also been much faster than elsewhere. Since 1981, the number of women at work has risen by 184,000, compared with a rise of 17,000 in male employment. Many women professionals remain unhappy with their pay and promotion prospects. A recent survey by the Sales Placement recruitment agency showed that 49 per cent were unhappy with promotion prospects and 41 per cent were dissatisfied with pay rates.